Street names in German literature: The beginnings

Abstract

While street names have been present in major German cities since the High Middle Ages, they did not find their way into German narrative literature until the late 17th century. In Christian Reuter’s picaresque novel Schelmuffsky (1696) familiar Hamburg street names are utilized to authenticate the protagonist’s extraordinary adventures. Similarly, E.T.A. Hoffmann initiates his fantastical tales against the backdrop of real streets in Berlin, Dresden, or Frankfurt, establishing a template for much of fantastical literature. However, he also pioneers a novel usage of real street names to denote socio-economic status among his characters. The introduction of invented street names into literary discourse occurred relatively late. These names, imbued with semantic or phonosymbolic significance, offer nuanced insights into the inhabitants’ socio-economic backgrounds.